Although it's certainly not to be followed over long periods of time, a rapid weight loss diet can definitely have a part to play in long term plans to lose weight. You may want to kick start your weight loss plan, or you may have reached a plateau and need a little 'push'

Following a rapid weight loss diet plan will help you to shift pounds, and fast, but maybe not fast enough? We all seem to want to lose weight in just a day or two when this is not necessarily realistic at all.

So if you are like millions of others that are fed up with waiting to see the effects of their diet plans, then you may want to consider looking into one of the many diet pills that are available from your physician or online.

There are so many options available, so how do you choose the right one? Here are some basic facts about each type of pill so that you can make your own decision as to which one you feel is going to help you best in achieving your rapid weight loss.

Metabolism Boosting Pills - As the name suggests, this pill claims to increase your metabolism, which will enable you to lose weight at a much faster rate.

Diuretic Pills - These work by helping your body to lose any stored water, and you can easily drop several pounds this way. Be careful though that you do watch your fluid intake when you take diuretic pills, at is easy to become dehydrated.

Fat Burning Pills - Again as the name suggests, these pills it is claimed, will increase the rate that your body is able to burn fat, and this will of course lead to a faster rate of losing weight.

Appetite Control Pills - This type of pill falls into two camps, those prescribed by your physician, and those bought 'over the counter'. The prescribed weight loss pills work by sending signals to your brain that you are full up, so you eat less food and therefore should lose weight. These are strong pills and need to be taken under medical supervision - they are not suitable for everyone, especially if you suffer from hypertension.

'Over the counter' appetite control pills will include amongst others, Hoodia which was used by the bushmen of South Africa to ward off hunger during their long hunting trips. Many of these pills are made from herbs and/or plants and again have the effect of making you feel full with less food.

If taking pills does not appeal to you, but you still want a rapid weight loss, then there are several replacement meal type products on the market. These will work in the short term, but should not be used over long periods.

As with any weight loss diet you should seek medical advice where necessary and also never follow a very low calorie diet (less than 1000 calories a day) for long periods.